Everyone calls you by a first name other than the one on your birth certificate? Your first name is causing you harm? You can ask to change it, add one, remove one or change their order (article 60 of the Civil Code).

The condition: a legitimate interest

The application must be justified. The consulate gives two examples:

• your first name, or its combination with your surname, is causing you harm;
• you are known by another first name to your family, your colleagues or the authorities.

The evidence is built with documents from throughout your life: school certificates, diplomas, employment contracts, statements, old identity papers. If the registrar considers the interest insufficient, he refers the matter to the public prosecutor; if the prosecutor objects, you can apply to the family court judge.

What has changed since 29 July 2026

Law no. 2026-667 of 27 July 2026 created article 60-1 of the Civil Code:

• for an adult or a minor over 13, attach bulletin no. 3 of the criminal record and a document on registration in the judicial files (FIJAIT and FIJAIS);
• if you have a foreign birth certificate, prove that the requested first name appears on it identically, unless authorised by the public prosecutor.

For Franco-Senegalese dual nationals, this last point is decisive: the change must often be obtained in Senegal first.

Submitting the file

If you live in Senegal, The Gambia, Cape Verde or Guinea-Bissau, submit the complete file at the consulate, in a sealed envelope, without an appointment, Monday to Thursday from 2 pm to 3.30 pm. For a child over 13, his or her written consent is required.

How we help

Legal Field Avocats builds your evidence file, coordinates the procedures between the Senegalese and French civil status services, and assists you if the prosecutor objects.

A first name to change? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Sources: French Consulate General in Dakar – Change of first name (in French); French Civil Code, articles 60 and 60-1.

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr

You bear your father’s surname and want your mother’s? Your French surname does not match the one on your Senegalese birth certificate? French law offers several routes, accessible through the French consulate in Dakar.

1. The simplified procedure, once in a lifetime

Any adult whose birth certificate is held by the French civil status can choose to bear the other parent’s surname, or both surnames joined, without giving a reason (article 61-3-1 of the Civil Code). This choice can only be made once.

• The file is submitted at the consulate in a sealed envelope, Monday to Thursday from 2 pm to 3.30 pm.
• You then confirm your application in person, no earlier than one month after it was received.
• The change extends to your children under 13; above that age, their consent is required.

New since 29 July 2026: Law no. 2026-667 of 27 July 2026 requires the applicant to attach bulletin no. 3 of the criminal record and a document on registration in the judicial files (FIJAIT and FIJAIS). If you have a foreign birth certificate, you must prove that the requested surname appears on it identically (article 61-3-2).

2. Bringing your name into line with the Senegalese record

If your surname is recorded differently on your foreign certificate, you can ask to bear in France the surname acquired in the other State (article 61-3-1, paragraph 2). The file is in principle sent to the Central Civil Status Service.

3. Change of surname by decree

For a surname that is difficult to bear or to prevent a family name from dying out, a legitimate interest must be shown. The change is then authorised by decree (article 61 of the Civil Code).

For a minor child whose parentage was not established with both parents at the same time, both parents may also make a joint declaration at the consulate, before the child turns 18.

How we help

Legal Field Avocats identifies the right procedure, prepares the file in line with the new 2026 requirements and assists you if the public prosecutor objects.

Want to change your surname? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Sources: French Consulate General in Dakar – Change of surname (in French); French Civil Code, articles 60 to 61-4.

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr

Losing a loved one is already an ordeal. When the person was French and the death occurs in Senegal, formalities must be completed with the Senegalese and then the French authorities. They determine the inheritance, the survivor’s pension or the updating of the family record book (livret de famille).

1. Declare the death in Senegal

A death occurring in Senegal must first be declared to the Senegalese civil status office.

2. Register it in the French civil status

The certificate can then be registered at the French Consulate General in Dakar, with no time limit. This step is not compulsory but is strongly recommended: without it, the death is not recorded on the deceased’s birth certificate. A relative or any person well informed of the deceased’s civil status can take this step, by appointment requested by email.

Main documents:

• original death certificate signed by a doctor;
• original literal copy of the Senegalese death certificate;
• full copy of the deceased’s French birth certificate, less than 3 months old;
• proof of French nationality, proof of last address and the deceased’s French identity documents (originals presented at the appointment);
• if possible, the certificate of cause of death and the family record book.

By way of exception, the consulate may also transcribe the death of a foreign national whose spouse was French, in order to update the family record book.

3. Repatriation or burial

The consulate makes sure the family is informed and advises it on repatriation or burial. The costs remain payable by the family or the deceased’s insurance.

How we help

Legal Field Avocats handles the civil status formalities and advises you on Franco-Senegalese inheritance questions, so that you do not have to manage everything alone at this difficult time.

Need help after the death of a loved one? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Source: French Consulate General in Dakar – Death (in French).

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr

Your divorce was granted by a Senegalese court? As far as France is concerned, you remain married until the divorce is recorded in the margin of your French civil status records. This can block a remarriage, an inheritance or a residence application.

Who to contact?

Senegal is outside the European Union. The divorce must therefore undergo a check of enforceability by the public prosecutor:

• marriage celebrated in France: the public prosecutor of the place of marriage;
• marriage celebrated abroad: the public prosecutor in Nantes (civil service of the prosecutor’s office).

If the prosecutor finds the decision enforceable, he has the divorce recorded on your French records.

Documents required

• Full copy of the decision, original or certified (and the originating application if the decision states no reasons).
• Proof that the decision is final: certificate of no appeal or equivalent.
• Proof of the spouses’ domicile and nationalities on the date the proceedings were brought.
• Translation by a sworn translator where necessary.
• Full copy of the French records to be updated.

Beware: if the marriage was celebrated abroad since 1 March 2007, it must first have been transcribed in France. Otherwise, you must start with the transcription of the marriage.

How we help

An incomplete file or a decision with insufficient reasons can lead to a refusal of enforceability. Legal Field Avocats, which practises family law in Senegal, works with its correspondent law firm in France to check the decision, gather the documents and refer the matter to the competent prosecutor.

Divorced in Senegal but still married in France? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Source: French Consulate General in Dakar – Divorce (in French).

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr

The PACS (civil solidarity pact) is a contract between two adults, of different sex or of the same sex, to organise their life together. It can be concluded at the French consulate in Dakar if at least one of the two partners is French (article 515-3 of the Civil Code).

The conditions

• Each partner is an adult (or an emancipated minor), neither married nor already in a PACS.
• No overly close family relationship between the partners.
• The partners commit to living together; their common residence must be within the consulate’s district.

The steps

1. Gather the joint declaration, the sworn statements, the PACS agreement and the supporting documents.
2. Request an appointment with the consulate’s PACS service to submit the file.
3. Attend the registration appointment together, in person.
4. The consulate issues a receipt and has the PACS recorded on the birth certificates.

The PACS takes effect between the partners as soon as it is registered. To amend or dissolve it, you must contact the post that registered it, even after moving.

The key point in Senegal

The consulate makes it clear: the Senegalese authorities do not recognise the PACS. It only has effect under French law. Before choosing between PACS and marriage, the consequences for property, inheritance and the foreign partner’s residence rights must be assessed.

How we help

Legal Field Avocats drafts your PACS agreement, prepares the file and advises you on the best choice between PACS and marriage for your Franco-Senegalese situation.

Planning a PACS? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Sources: French Consulate General in Dakar – PACS (in French); French Civil Code, articles 515-1 to 515-7-1.

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr

A marriage celebrated in Dakar is not automatically registered in France. For it to take effect in the French civil status records, three steps follow one another, governed by articles 171-1 to 171-8 of the Civil Code.

1. Before the wedding: the certificate of capacity to marry (CCAM)

A French national marrying abroad before a local authority must first obtain a CCAM (article 171-2 of the Civil Code). In Senegal, the file is submitted only by appointment booked online, by one of the future spouses. The banns are published for 10 days. An interview may be requested.

The processing times announced by the consulate are long: acknowledgement of receipt about 5 months after submission, issue in 6 months on average for a complete file. The consulate recommends not setting the wedding date before obtaining the CCAM, which is valid for 1 year.

2. The celebration

The consulate does not set the date: you must contact the Senegalese civil status office. Under article 121 of the Senegalese Family Code, the marriage is celebrated at the civil status centre of the domicile or residence of one of the spouses. Two French nationals without Senegalese nationality may also marry at the consulate, by submitting the file at least two months in advance.

3. After the wedding: transcription

The French spouse applies for transcription of the Senegalese marriage certificate (article 171-5 of the Civil Code). If the marriage took place without a CCAM, transcription is preceded by an interview of the spouses (article 171-7). The public prosecutor may object if he suspects the marriage is void.

Religious or customary marriage

Once married religiously, you can no longer obtain a CCAM. The marriage must be recorded by the Senegalese civil status office within 6 months, with four witnesses. After that, a judgment authorising late registration is required before applying for transcription.

A spouse visa refused afterwards? See our page on spouse of a French national visa refusals.

How we help

Interviews, refused transcriptions, objections by the public prosecutor in Nantes, unrecorded customary marriages: these are the files we handle every day. Legal Field Avocats assists you from the CCAM application through to court proceedings if necessary.

Planning a Franco-Senegalese marriage? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Sources: French Consulate General in Dakar – Marriage (in French); French Civil Code, articles 171-1 to 171-9.

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr

You are not married and are expecting a child, or the child has already been born? Without marriage, each parent-child link is established separately. Recognition is the act by which a parent officially declares that he or she is the father or the mother. The Civil Code allows it before or after the birth (article 316).

What you need to know

• It is a voluntary and personal act: each parent can recognise the child without the other’s consent.
• If you are married, parentage is automatic: no recognition is needed.
• A French father alone can recognise his child at any time.
• A foreign father alone can only do so at the consulate once the French maternal parentage has been established, and must prove the mother’s French nationality.
• For a French or Senegalese mother, parentage in principle results from her being named in the birth certificate.
• If the father can attend the birth declaration at the consulate, recognition before birth is unnecessary: he recognises the child that day.

Documents that often cause delays

Before the birth, the consulate requires an original medical certificate of pregnancy. After the birth, you need the original full copy of the child’s birth certificate, less than 3 months old. Senegalese records are required as literal copies; any incomplete file is refused. The appointment is requested by email, with a precise subject line and information.

How we help

A badly handled recognition can delay the transcription of the birth, the child’s passport or proof of his or her French nationality. Legal Field Avocats reviews your situation, prepares the file and advises you on the consequences for the child’s surname and nationality.

Want to recognise your child? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Sources: French Consulate General in Dakar – Recognition of a child (in French); French Civil Code, article 316.

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr

Your child was born in Senegal and one of the parents is French? As far as France is concerned, the child does not yet exist until the birth is registered in the French civil status records. Without this record, there is no French passport or identity card.

Two possible routes

1. Declaration at the consulate, within 30 days. The French Civil Code sets the principle: abroad, a birth is declared to the consular officers within fifteen days, a time limit that may be extended by decree (article 55). At the French Consulate General in Dakar, the limit is 30 calendar days after the birth. The declaration is made by appointment only, in the presence of the child, with the original delivery certificate. The birth must also be declared to the Senegalese civil status office.

2. Transcription of the Senegalese birth certificate, with no time limit. After 30 days, or if you cannot travel, you apply for transcription of the Senegalese birth certificate. This formality is free. The file is submitted at the consulate without an appointment, Monday to Thursday from 2 pm to 3.30 pm, or by post if neither parent lives in Senegal. A foreign certificate is accepted as evidence if it is regular (article 47 of the Civil Code): this is where files get complicated.

The most common pitfalls

• Senegalese records must be provided as an original literal copy (copie littérale), never as an extract or photocopy.
• The full copy of the French parent’s birth certificate must be less than 3 months old.
• Unmarried parents: the father must have recognised the child, or be present at the declaration.
• The surname is chosen by joint declaration (father’s, mother’s or both joined). This choice is irrevocable and applies to subsequent children (article 311-21 of the Civil Code). Without a declaration, the child takes the father’s name.
• Files submitted by third parties are not accepted.

How we help

Legal Field Avocats helps you build a complete file the first time: checking the Senegalese records, choice of surname, forms, and appeals in the event of a refusal or a request to authenticate the certificate.

Questions about your birth registration file? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.

Sources: French Consulate General in Dakar – Birth (in French); French Civil Code, articles 47, 55 and 311-21.

See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer

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LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com

Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr